Is Speedy Hire Plc's (LON:SDY) CEO Salary Justified?
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Russell Down has been the CEO of Speedy Hire Plc (LON:SDY) since 2015. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
Check out our latest analysis for Speedy Hire
How Does Russell Down's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing our data says that Speedy Hire Plc has a market cap of UK£322m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of UK£1.3m. (This number is for the twelve months until March 2019). That's a notable increase of 89% on last year. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at UK£380k. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of UK£159m to UK£635m. The median total CEO compensation was UK£663k.
Thus we can conclude that Russell Down receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Speedy Hire Plc. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Speedy Hire has changed over time.
Is Speedy Hire Plc Growing?
On average over the last three years, Speedy Hire Plc has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 109% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 5.8% over the last year.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has Speedy Hire Plc Been A Good Investment?
Boasting a total shareholder return of 97% over three years, Speedy Hire Plc has done well by shareholders. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary...
We compared total CEO remuneration at Speedy Hire Plc with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. On top of that, in the same period, returns to shareholders have been great. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Speedy Hire shares with their own money (free access).
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
